Better Bitters Nickel Brook Ale (pre 2009)

Unique orange-hued beverage holds lots of promise. Aroma is really nice and fruity: kiwi, pineapple, strawberry and orange peel immediately pop out. Nice, tight fizz. Medium bitterness. Fruity favours are less expressive than the nose, with sour cherry being the most obvious flavour note. Pretty good.

341ml brown bottle. Orange amber colour, fair sized rocky white head. Aroma is fruity and floral, sweet. Caramel malt start, floral hops and toasty malts middle, grainy woody finish, dryish. Medium body, fine carbonation.

Bottle- Dark amber with a medium sized white head. Malt right up front with a slight burnt caramel background. Some cereal in the nose as well. Sweet /bitter malt flavours, raisin bread, and grains. Thin bodied, slight watery finish. Medium carbonation. Ok.

bottle. thanks Tupalev. pours a clear, dark copper body with a short-lasting white head. aroma is predominately toasted malt and sweet grain. Well I can safely say that there isn’t anything particularly offensive about this beer, but there isn’t really any substance that sets it apart. Sweet and bready flavours with moderate carbonation and a short soapy finish.

Bottle courtesy of tupalev. Pours a clear bubbly dark gold with an average size diminishing white head. Light aroma of sweet malt, fruit, honey, grain and a touch of hops. Flavour of malt, grain, fruit and again, very light on the hops. It’s semi-sweet with a very slight bitter aftertaste. Medium body. It’s O.K., more like a decent Pilsener than an Ale to me, it’s average at best.

Bottle. Dark orange, no head. Aroma of orange citrus, and slight hops, not bad. Thin watery mouthfeel. Taste of slight malt and hops. English style for sure, but seems more like my homebrew than something I would pay money for regularly. Pretty bland really. They seem committed and the packaging is nice, but despite their intentions this is just another middle of the road Ontario micro - don’t we have enough already?

RERATE: Bottle from the brewery. I’d heard that they had tweaked the recipe on this one, so I thought it deserved a re-rate. Aroma hasn’t changed much, aside from being a bit fresher. Flavour is quite improved - the off-flavours I detected before are gone, leaving a mild, fresh, rounded character. Still not an overly complex beer, but a well-crafted one that will likely make some repeat visits to my fridge.

ORIGINAL RATING: Bottle from the LCBO - courtesy of tupalev. Pours a very light clear copper with a moderate white head that disappears quickly. Aroma is malty, a bit woody, with a honey-like sweetness coming through as it warms. Flavour is malty and grainy with an odd harsh edge that I can’t really describe - Josh mentions "an underfermented wortiness" is his review below, so maybe that’s what I’m tasting. It’s not awful, but it’s fairly middle of the road. [6/3/5/2/11]

Bottle (341ml). Thanks to tupalev!. Poured clear gold, bubbly, with a minimal diminishing white head. Aroma is very woody, almost resiny, with cereal notes, maybe a hint of hops - clean, anyway. I guess this is salty - I think of it as cedary - the wood, not the greenery - there’s dry malt, grain ... MOR. Mouthfeel is dryly acidic - overall nothing wrong with it, but it’s a bit harsh and not that enjoyable.